When Autumn Leaves Fall
by Dahlia Misery
Summary: Psychic Force 2012 fic. Emilio has escaped Wong's clutches but finds that he cherished the time that he had spent with Army.


When Autumn Leaves Fall  
  
Summary: Emilio has escaped Wong's clutches but finds that he cherished the time that he had spent with Army.   
Author's Notes: In my opinion, Emilio's self-esteem went up while he was in Army. I like to think Army did some good for the kid. So yes, he enjoys killing when there's killing to be done, but he's still a good, obedient boy. Well, in this story anyway.   
And Wendy has released Burn one week after she saved Emilio.   
~// ... \\~ = flashback  
  
  
~//"Nee...Wong?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Why are Chinese firecrackers so plain?"  
"Plain?"  
"They don't have colors. They're just noisy and make a lot of smoke."  
"A superstitious tradition. It was thought that firecrackers scared demons."  
"Oh I see..."  
  
"Nee...Wong?"  
"Yes?"  
"Can I play with firecrackers tomorrow?"  
"Fireworks? Where did you get those?"  
"In the basement, Setsuna."  
"You sure they'll still work?"  
"Maybe. So, Wong, can I? Please?"  
"I see no reason why you can't."  
"Thanks!"  
  
"Nee...Wong?"  
"Yes?"  
"Gong Xi Fa Cai."  
"Gong Xi Fa Cai."  
"Gonn shii fa thai?"  
"It means 'Happy New Years' in Chinese."  
"But it's February."  
"The Chinese celebrate it in February. Right?"  
"That is correct."  
"Oh. Does this mean we get money?"  
"Hey, that's right! Ne, Wong? You're gonna give us some cash, right?"  
"..."  
\\~  
  
  
Emilio slumped back against the tree trunk as he thought about the first Chinese New Year he had celebrated in his life. A faint smile touched his lips as he recalled waking up on New Year's morning and finding a red envelope holding an impressive amount of cash placed on his bedside table. He still had it, stashed away in a small wooden box underneath his bed, saving it for emergencies...and for sentimentality.  
  
It had been two weeks since Wendy had liberated his memories. The gap in his memory between the time his mother had tried to kill him to the time when he thought he'd first met Wong had been filled. It was four-year's worth of memories that Wong had locked away in the deepest depths of his mind. Shocked, he had flew back to Wong's palace and confronted him. Angry, he had stupidly initiated a battle with the more powerful man.   
  
~//"My hands...what you made me do...I can't forgive you!"\\~  
  
Unsurprisingly, he had lost.   
But he didn't die.  
Wong had mocked him and exited the room, leaving him to his wounds and anger, but allowing him to walk away from Army, alive.  
  
~//"I hate you!"\\~  
  
Two weeks and he still didn't understand why he had been spared.  
There was also another thing that puzzled him. As much as he tried, he could not remember how Wong had captured him in the first place. Nor could he remember being brainwashed.  
Frustrated, Emilio let out a heartfelt sigh.  
  
He was beginning to feel depressed again.  
The anger over what Wong had done to him had faded as quickly as it came.  
  
~//"I hate you!"\\~  
  
He realized now that he felt more hurt and betrayed than anything else. He almost wished he had never discovered the truth. Those two years with Army were the best times of his life. Ones he never wanted to forget.  
  
~//Emilio shrieked as Setsuna grabbed him and stuffed a handful of autumn leaves down his shirt. Indignant, he pulled the ends of his shirt and shook them out.  
"You look silly," Setsuna laughed.  
Emilio stuck out his tongue in response.   
Grinning, Setsuna began to head back to the house when he was suddenly tackled into the pile of leaves that Emilio had just finished raking together.  
"Gack!"  
"Jerk!" Emilio yelled as he playfully pounded Setsuna on the back multiple times.  
"Damn kid!" Setsuna pushed himself up and rolled over, tossing Emilio to the ground. Before Emilio could pick himself up he was quickly pinned back down. "Brat!" Holding him in a headlock, Setsuna ruffled his hair in retaliation while Emilio laughed as he tried to wrestle away.  
Suddenly a flash of light interrupted them. They paused and turned to see Wong with his customary smile and holding a camera.  
"Another moment in time now caught and kept." He chuckled to himself as he walked away.   
Setsuna looked at Emilio who only shrugged in response. Getting up, he jogged to catch up with Wong as he smoothed down his aqua hair.  
"Ne, Wong?" Emilio tugged at his sleeve. "Are we going to get a copy of that?"  
"If you like."  
\\~  
  
That photo now resided in the same box with his New Year's money.  
  
~//"Another moment in time now caught and kept."\\~  
  
He occasionally took the picture out to look at it when he was alone in the room. It was a kind of hope for him to be able to hold a piece of that time in his hands. That what happened wasn't only just a memory.  
  
Emilio shivered as the cold night wind swept past.   
"I miss them," he whispered quietly to himself. "I miss them." He wondered if Wong and Setsuna missed him too. Sadly, he doubted that Wong had really ever cared, and had probably already forgotten him by now. Thinking back, he realized there wasn't a single picture of him and Wong together.  
"Was I only just a toy?" Emilio gazed up at the stars that hung silently in the sky. The sixteen-year-old boy pondered over his life with Wong and regretted his last words to the Asian man who had been the closest thing he had of a father. His thoughts broke off as he heard footsteps coming up from behind him.   
"Emilio, dinner's ready." Wendy rested a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "We should go in before Burn eats everything."  
He smiled. "Hai."  
  
~//"Emilio-kun."  
"Hai."  
"Run along to bed. It's getting late."  
"Do I have to?"  
"You're still young. Go to bed."  
"Hai!"  
"And this is for you. Please give the other one to Setsuna."  
"Thank you, Wong!"  
\\~  
  
~owari 


End file.
